Our final stop was to go to the place where the North American plate and Eurasian plate are moving apart at 2 ¼ centimeters a year. Our guide said that Iceland was getting closer to North American every year and further away from Europe but how can that be if the plates are moving apart. It would seem that Iceland is growing by 2 ¼ centimeters a year and is getting closer to both continents by that much a year. We could see a long ridge of the North American plate which has moved upward. Really wasn’t sure what she was saying about it all as some of her remarks seemed a bit odd but then I thought she said originally that they only had rainbows by the waterfall on Sundays. It is by lake Pingvallavatn which is pronounced as if it is a TH at the beginning and the P doesn’t really look like a P. She said the lake is one of their largest or the largest but it is the coldest and the deepest which goes over 113 meters deep and as the surface is at 100 meters above sea level, that means the bottom of the lake is below sea level. As we are driving, we pass some scuba divers and suddenly I think that this may be where I am diving tomorrow. Wow. Fresh water diving. I had not expected that but it makes sense since we are not going out on a boat and not dependent on weather for the diving and they keep saying take a sip.
We also saw the site of Pingvellir which is where their first parliament was convened some time around 900 a.d. or so. She was remarking on how it was the first parliament ever anywhere and I have heard this claim in several other countries so I am thinking that if you make a definition that only you will fit, then you can definitely claim to be the first in that category. There is quite a ridge there of the North American plate that has uplifted. The lake also is quite lovely and you can get up over it and look down on it. The site where the original parliament was is just indicated by signs and a flying flag. They came for two weeks during the summer and there were no houses there so they had to get their business done in a hurry and then go home and get ready for winter. Too bad parliaments don’t do the same now.
We also saw the site of Pingvellir which is where their first parliament was convened some time around 900 a.d. or so. She was remarking on how it was the first parliament ever anywhere and I have heard this claim in several other countries so I am thinking that if you make a definition that only you will fit, then you can definitely claim to be the first in that category. There is quite a ridge there of the North American plate that has uplifted. The lake also is quite lovely and you can get up over it and look down on it. The site where the original parliament was is just indicated by signs and a flying flag. They came for two weeks during the summer and there were no houses there so they had to get their business done in a hurry and then go home and get ready for winter. Too bad parliaments don’t do the same now.
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